Bulletproof
by Poisoned Scarlet
Summary: "Soul, how good are you at faking it?" – Maka realizes men are better at disguising their motives than she originally thought after she's sexually assaulted on a date.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Soul Eater.

**Bulletproof  
>by. <strong>_Poisoned Scarlett_

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><p><em>1.<em>

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><p>"I can't believe this! I'm so stupid—<em>ARGH!<em>" Maka stormed down the lonely streets of Death City, biting her lip to hold back tears. She had taken off her high heels and held them in her hand, walking barefoot on the gravelly streets. Her shimmering red dress, reaching modestly low, and allowing only a teasing amount of cleavage to show, worsened her embittered mood because she had put so much thought into it. Her hair, let loose into ashy blond curls that cascaded down her back, had been hastily tied into a bun when she walked out on her date.

She actually liked him, that Demon Ax, Derek Dupree. He had been very kind and friendly towards her, offering to carry her books and walk her to class sometimes. He even had a few of the same interests as her, like reading and listening to electronic.

But it was a lie.

That was his disguise, a friendly and easy-going boy, and he had even managed to fool _her_.

She wrapped her arms around herself protectively, remembering how his hands had forced themselves upon her body; how utterly _paralyzed_ with horror she had been. Maka hadn't known she was being played until tonight, when Derek tried to get ahead of himself after drinking a little too much wine. When she'd rejected his advancements, flustered and confused by his sudden impatience, he'd tried again despite her pleads to stop; despite telling him he was _hurting_ her.

Then Maka realized just what his objective had been.

What his objective had been all along.

The look on his face had said it all, but his actions spoke louder.

"That fucking _shithead_ – son of a _bitch_ – good for nothing – _UGH!_" Maka choked furiously between sobs. She tossed her heels into a nearby trash bin and continued her livid march to the water fountain that stood in the center of town.

Her feet felt raw and dirty by the time she reached the empty square. The streets were bare of any one and she was grateful for this. The gas lamps illuminated the sculpted fountain a faint gold, its stream of water reduced to a limp trickle at this time of night. The crescent moon that hung in the sky lit the land a soft ethereal glow, but the beauty of the scene was lost to her in her blind rage.

Maka scrubbed off the tears on her face, the back of her hands blotched with eyeliner. She wiped the lip gloss off her lips, and didn't care for the black stains her dress would get as she rubbed out her puffy eyes with the inner neckline.

This had been the fifth - _failed_ - date in four months.

But this had been the first time she had been sexually assaulted by one of her suitors.

The last three dates hadn't amounted to anything, and she'd only lasted a few days with the first boy who asked her out. Not only that, the last four had known their place and backed away when she denied their advancements. However, the fifth one – Derek – had been friendly and funny, _reliable and trustworthy. _What made this night all the more special was the fact that it was Valentine's Day, and Derek had actually managed to book a reservation at a pricey restaurant for them, like he had _promised_ her.

Maka could have probably grown to like him as something more if he had given her the chance.

But Maka should have known better: boys were cruel, men were filth.

She should have known better than to think Derek was _different_. It sounded a little dumb in her head, now that she thought about it. She dunked her hand into the still water of the fountain then pressed it against a feverish cheek. The rage subdued to a quiet melancholy, and Maka drew her knees up to her chest, the wind whistling in her ears. The silence of the square offered her some comfort, but she could always go for a bucket of vanilla ice-cream and graham cookies stuffed with marshmallows and melted chocolate... maybe watch a stupid romantic comedy she could criticize, because that girl in love was an idiot and that arrogant guy was an even _bigger_ idiot...

She gave up.

Maka had tried to give the male specie a chance, and they had screwed up; flunked.

There were no second chances; no retakes.

This was it.

She had _enough_ of their lies!

Liz and Tsubaki had been wrong: men would never change. They would always be dirt; worse than the grime under her feet. They would always be a disappointment. She wouldn't search for someone to have a substantial relationship with anymore. The prospect of dating had lost its gloss; she didn't want that semblance of a relationship any longer, not if it was accompanied by so much heartache. It simply didn't seem worth the extra effort when the other person was always straying to other women...

She was better off alone, Maka understood despondently, because the one person she could truly trust without reservation was herself. That had been cemented with this disaster of a night. She thought she could find someone else, knowing well enough that with Soul and his own casual dating, he'd likely find someone to relate to soon enough. He'd replace her soon, Maka thought with a clench of her heart, but she wanted to replace _him _before that happened! To avoid all the heartache and loss.

Some retarded plan _that _had turned out to be, she thought miserably.

The low growl of a motorcycle collapsed her depressing string of thoughts.

_But there's always him. _Maka thought to herself, tightening her arms around her legs self-consciously. There was always Soul, despite her giving up on men, that ruined that ideal in the end; the exception to the rule. _What do I do about __him__? _It had technically been his fault for taunting her about her lonely Saturday nights and after school studying. Always making her feel less than pretty, rather pathetic. Somehow showing him up hadn't turned out like she imagined it would...

Keys jangled as the motorcycle was shut off, and the heavy thump of boots neared her.

"You know, when people say they'll be back before nine, they usually _are._" He drawled.

Maka snorted as Soul Eater leaned on the edge of the fountain beside her.

Figures he would know where she ran off to when she was distraught.

Maka darkly wondered if she was becoming predictable when he spoke up again:

"Bad night?"

"Horrible." Maka mumbled, letting her face fall on her knees. "He was the same as the rest." She heard him scoff, and she added passively: "I broke his nose."

"Should I be proud of that?"

"If you know what's good for you, yes."

She heard his boot scuff against the cobblestone floor. "...Why're you barefoot?"

"I threw my shoes away." Maka let her legs dangle over the edge of the fountain again. Her feet looked so small compared to Soul's gruff, thick, steel-toed boots.

"Why'd you throw your shoes away, genius? Didn't Liz waste some big bucks on those?"

"_I_ bought them, Liz just picked them out for me." She stretched her toes out, nails painted a shiny red. Liz had treated her to a pedicure the day before. She supposed it had been wasted on her in the end. "I give up on dating. It's pointless, and it subtracts time from my studying, anyway."

"Thought you wanted a boyfriend." He said, passionless.

"Yeah, I did, too, until I realized how much trouble it is to _have_ one. I'm better off on my own." Maka explained calmly. Soul always helped focus her thoughts, though; be it with his sensible words or comfortable presence. "I don't need a guy to make me happy, I can do that all on my own!" She firmly stated. So what if Soul was dating girls sometimes, Maka thought sourly, she didn't need to show him up for this! She could manage all on her own. She didn't need someone like _that_ in her life, as long as Soul stayed as her friend... it would be alright. She would be alright.

As long as he stayed her friend, Maka decided with a soft sigh, she could watch the sunset on her own...

She dusted her dress when she stood, missing the shadow in his eyes.

"Did he at least take you somewhere nice?"

"That French restaurant nearby." Maka answered. She glanced at the sickle moon, hazed with a mist of clouds, hanging upon a backdrop of black marble. It was such a beautiful night, too.

_Perfect for couples,_ Maka bitterly thought. She always knew Valentine's Day was a farce but it still touched her that she had _actually_ been taken out on such a Hallmark day. She hadn't been wallowing alone in her room, for once in her life. Soul hadn't been able to tease her about it, only become surly and ill-tempered for a reason that still eluded her.

"He must have been pretty desperate for a lay, huh? If he took you to such a fancy place." Soul responded, cynically.

Maka flinched, fisting handfuls of her dress in her hands to swallow back the terrible memories. She was happy to have been taken out today but she'd take back those hours if it meant never experiencing such a horrible feeling of helplessness. "...Just shut up and take me home, Soul. I'm tired." Maka stalked toward the motorcycle parked on the curb.

"Way to go, Soul..." Soul groaned quietly to himself, hurrying after her for damage control.

"Maka!" Soul deliberated beating around the bush. But stalling had never been cool, or his style. "You want me to beat the shit out of him like the last one?" He asked, bluntly.

"What - _n__o!_" Maka pursed her lips. She wanted him to, actually, but she knew that type of vengeance would give her no satisfaction. "Remember what happened _last _time? You didn't have to hurt Mark _that_ bad! He was interned for a whole day!" Maka added in annoyance, remembering her third suitor.

"That taught him not to play with my meister." Soul replied, matter-of-fact. "I won't allow anyone to hurt you and get away with it, Maka. It's my duty as a weapon to protect you - both emotionally and physically."

She understood that it was his duty, don't get her wrong. It was his _duty_ that made him such an easy person to care for, and it had been his goddamn _duty_ that had breached the brambles surrounding her heart. It was because of his wretched _duty _to her that everything went wrong; that she can't enjoy a date because she's comparing them to _him _or wondering things that shouldn't be entertained if she saw Soul like she claimed she did: which was as a _friend. _Because he had made it more than clear, _crystal clear_, that he was not interested in her. He didn't want her like she'd like to have him. He _especially_ made that clear when he took that first pretty girl out on a date all those months ago...

So, what's a girl to do but keep walking forward?

"...Are you going to?" Maka asked, placing a hold on those equally depressing thoughts.

"Gonna' what?"

"You _know_ what!" Maka hissed, already on his motorcycle. She made sure to bunch her dress under her so it didn't drag.

Soul swung a leg over his bike, pushing her back slightly as he collected his thoughts. He knew _exactly_ what she was talking about; he had more or less given himself away. "Maybe."

There was no use lying: Derek would rue the day he made her cry. Soul loathed it when she cried – especially for trash like him. He couldn't help but feel slightly responsible for her heartache. Even though he had _warned _her from the beginning to be careful about this game she had taken a liking to playing, she hadn't listened. Now here she was more gloomy than usual; hurt, emotionally wrung. It was all because Soul hadn't screened this guy like the others, mainly because after a wall-shaking argument about him intimidating her suitors while she always let him go out with all those fanatical girls he chose without a single word, he'd spat out he could care less and stormed out of the apartment. But that had been a poor decision on his part: he should have insisted. He should have _at least_ figured out what this guys deal was.

Because now he had to pick up the pieces of his meister's broken heart.

And he planned to start by getting rid of the core problem.

Derek Dupree was a walking dead man, Soul decided darkly.

He ignited the engine to drown out her reprove, revving the bike on purpose so he didn't have to hear her. He felt her pinch his stomach and he snorted at her attempts to draw his attention, reaching down to take her hand before she _really _hurt him. "What? It's not like I haven't done it before."

"Soul, you don't have to hurt him! I already _did!_" Maka insisted, his hand closing tightly over her own. She slipped it out, unwilling to hold a mans hand after what had just happened. Even if that man was her own dear weapon partner. "I wasn't lying when I said I broke his nose!"

"And what, _exactly_, did he try to make you react that way?" He meant it rhetorically, figuring the guy had just said something to piss her off, but when she tensed and fell silent, he realized this had not been the case.

"He..." Maka hesitated, and she looked down when he abruptly veered to the side and turned off his bike. He twisted around to look at her, his gaze glacial but scrutinizing.

"Tell me what he did, Maka."

Maka braced herself, knowing this would likely enrage him. If he lost the handle on his emotions when she told him Suitor Number 2 groped her but missed, she could only guess this attempt at a sexual assault would send him into a murderous frenzy.

She hoped not.

"I want to eat a burger." Maka demanded.

His eyes widened a fraction, face otherwise blank. "It's about to be one in the morning, can't this wait?"

"I didn't finish my dinner, so I'm hungry." Maka shrugged. At his intense stare, she added heavily: "Take me somewhere to eat and I'll tell you what happened..."

Gauging her truthfulness and deeming it enough, Soul turned back and ignited his bike once more. The air burned with frost as they sped down the road, and Maka hid behind Soul to keep her skin from feeling as if it were peeling off her bones. He took her to her favourite fast-food place, which was open late, to her relief. But the floor was crunchy with gravel and hints of glass. Maka had to maneuver her way inside the lonesome restaurant carefully, so as not to injury the soles of her feet any more than she already had.

"A number 5 with a_ Sprite_, right?" Soul guessed, once they were inside. It was comfortably warm, the florescent lights bright. She noticed it made her skin look pale. She wondered if her face looked hollowed and chalky as well and hoped the lighting wouldn't make her look worse than she actually was.

"Mhm." She picked a booth that had a nice view of the outside. It was dark, but the gas lamps that lined the sidewalks offered sufficient light to admire the arid and empty streets of Death City.

_How am I going to tell him? _Maka thought, picking at a hole in the seat. _There isn't any way to... say it without it sounding bad. _She didn't want Soul to go on a mad hunt for Derek when he discovered what he had nearly done in his tipsy state. She wanted this to stay as low-key as possible; it embarrassed her enough to have to retell it to someone she admired so much...

"Here – I got you a smoothie instead." Soul told her, handing her a strawberry smoothie before sliding her the tray of food.

"Oh, that's great. Thanks, Soul." Maka smiled faintly, taking a deep drink of the sweet beverage. This was _just_ what she needed: comfort food!

Soul watched her finish half the smoothie in a few sips with an amused smile. He probably knew her better than she knew herself, he mused. He heard her quietly complain about needing her boots right now and he snorted. He had adopted a new cool look over the years, and Maka was still amused by the fact that he had bought himself a pair of biker boots similar to her own. The leather jacket had been kept, his orange shirt replaced with a gray muscle shirt. His black jeans were loose, kept on his waist by a heavy-buckled belt. But there was one thing that never changed, and that was the haphazard way his hair fell over his eyes despite the black headband he wore to keep it back.

"So? You gonna' tell me now?"

Maka chewed on a fry silently, wondering how she should break down the past few hours.

Thinking about it made her appetite crumble.

She hadn't known what to do when it happened, to be honest. It had just happened too quickly, without warning. All of those years of combat training were worthless under his demeaning gaze. Her mind hadn't been able to process his actions fast enough. Her muscles had frozen up, throat caught in a strangle for words, and her mind had just gone _blank_...

Shame made it hard to swallow.

"Maka?" Soul asked, alarmed when she looked close to tears again.

Maka looked down bleakly, dropping her fry. She hated crying: it not only showed weakness but it was painstakingly difficult to stop once she started. She sucked in a breath, unable to say the dreadful words. They were stubbornly lodged in her throat.

It was embarrassing for her to have to admit to her partner just how basically _helpless_ she had been! She contemplated lying and whipping up some dismal tale of Derek two-timing her or something of the like. But not the crude truth, which was that he had very nearly _raped _her when he'd followed her to the bathroom. Cornering her in the empty hall; plastering on such a lying smile on his face; caging her within his arms like she was some frightened animal; his breath stinking of wine. He had whispered things like _"C'mon, Maka, don't be like that..." _or "_Just as kiss!" _but they had neither gotten the proper reaction out of her nor had they abated the panic that had slowly took refuge in her gut the longer she sat under his hungry gaze, the longer her mind processed what was about to happen if she didn't tip the axis of power _now_.

But _now _had come too late for her.

It was ironic, really.

_She_ was the one always lecturing her friends to be safe; to be _careful_.

_She_ was the one who reminded them to never let a man have the upper-hand; to fight back, and _win._

_She _was the one who warned them to never fall for a man's word; to never let them sweet-talk them into a sense of false security, not to get poisoned by their honey-slicked words and empty smiles.

_She _was such a _hypocrite, _wasn't she?

"Maka, what the hell did he _do_ to you?" Soul demanded, eyes flinty and severe. He leaned over the table. "He didn't... _force_ himself on you, did he?" He asked, very carefully.

Maka slapped a hand over her mouth to silence her squeak, searching the table in panic.

_He knows._

What now?

"That _shithead!_" Soul snarled, and stormed up. He looked absolutely terrifying, his serrated teeth bared and his eyes darker than she had ever seen them. "I'll make him fucking regret letting his dick think for him! Where the _fuck_ is he—?"

"No, Soul, don't!" Maka called in alarm, catching the back of his jacket. "Soul, don't go!"

"Let me go, Maka! He won't get away after taking advantage of you -_ I won't allow it!_" Soul bellowed, and she let him go in surprise.

"But—!"

"Don't start." Soul warned coldly. Maka felt more tears well in her eyes. Her bottom lip quavered. But those tears were out of anger at his stubbornness, and fury at her own helplessness; not the ache in her chest for the disaster of this day.

"Fine! _Go_, then!" Maka shouted, thickly. She clamored out of her seat, food untouched. "D-do whatever you want!" She made her way outside in a heart beat, this time not minding the way glass drove into the soles of her feet.

Soul rubbed his fingers in his eyes in frustration before he ran after her. "_Maka!_"

"Go _away_, Soul!" Maka shouted. She would walk home by herself and curl up under her sheets to cry out the turmoil poisoning her heart.

She didn't need anyone; much less Soul.

She could comfort_ herself!_

"Maka, hold up!"

"NO!" Maka shrieked, her sight unfocused by her tears. "Go ahead – beat the shit out of him! I don't care anymore –_ do it!_" She didn't usually swear; she didn't think it was very necessary to do so, unlike Soul. She miserably wondered if this would make her even _more_ of a hypocrite, halted by Soul when he grabbed her arm.

"Maka, stop, you're going the wrong way, stupid!"

"That's my problem, not yours!" Maka snapped, trying to wring her arm out of his grip. He just tightened his fingers in reply to every yank. "Let me _go,_ Soul! Are you going to try to _rape me_, too?" She sneered, vindictively.

Soul took his hand off her as if she had burned him. The disbelief was visible in his wide eyes. He hadn't known just how much Derek had forced himself on her, Maka realized belatedly, because he had never let her finish. He hadn't managed to touch her but he nearly had: his hand had been poised to do so before she reacted, punched his lights out, and scampered away.

She felt horrible instantly.

Maka slumped to her knees in defeat and covered her eyes with the back of her hand to hide her watery eyes. Her night was ruined, the next few days, too, and she had just unfairly accused the one person she could likely trust wholly of _rape_?

_What's wrong with me?_

She hadn't known she was crying so loudly until she felt Soul kneel before her and shush her gently.

"Don't cry, Maka, please stop crying. Look, I'm sorry, alright? I screwed up – I shouldn't have yelled at you like that!" Tentatively, keeping in mind she would be jumpy after something like that, he wiped away the excess tears on her cheeks with his fingertips. "I was pissed. I wasn't thinking clearly..."

"I-I kn-know." Maka wetly sniffed, adding contemptuously: "That's why you're an _idiot!_"

Soul smiled faintly. He let his hand fall off her cheek as she collected herself. "Yeah, that's why I'm a dumbass."

"I never said that," Maka mumbled thickly, wiping a hand under her runny nose. She composed herself with a deep breath. She couldn't lose it in public, at night, in the middle of the street. She was stronger than this. "I called you an _idiot_ not a dumbass, get your facts straight!"

"Same difference." Soul flashed her his trademark grin, relieved when she managed a faint smile back. The fact that Maka could still smile, however faint it was, after something like this meant her strong will had pulled through after all. "Come on, it's not cool to sit around the street in the middle of the night." He held his hand out to her.

Maka looked at it sourly. "Aren't you going to beat up Derek?"

Soul's eyes tightened but his hand never wavered. "I think you're more important right now than that piece of fuck."

"...Okay." Maka took his hand. She squeezed his hand before he could take it back, and she sighed in relief when he didn't let her go and walked her back to the restaurants parking lot.

"Where are you going? The bike is that way!" Maka said, puzzled when Soul led her back into the fast-food facility.

"You never finished your food, remember? You're gonna' be hungry later, and I'm not in the mood to cook." Soul let go of her hand only to take the tray to the front and ask for a bag.

Maka hung back by the door awkwardly. What would she do now? She couldn't say she was afraid of dating again, she was just unnerved by how well men could disguise their intentions. That had been what _really _scared her, not the assault itself. Derek's facade had been flawless; expertly played, professionally composed. His assault had come as a shock, of course, but in the end her reflexes had kicked in and she had punched his nose brutally. But her body had been acting on its own; her mind had stayed blank in shock. The helplessness had not ebbed but only grown worse because she had gone against everything she had promised herself she wouldn't do.

And the icy realization that, had Derek not made his motives known so early, she could have been hurt even _worse_ made her stomach sick. She kept clenching and unclenching her hand in thought as she walked to the motorcycle, deciding she'd wait for Soul there. It was usually a fleeting thought, the comfort and relief she derived from holding Soul's hand. But now she felt wary. Now she was rethinking everything she knew - or _thought _she knew - about her partner.

Just how well was Soul at disguising his emotions? At pretending to be someone else? At hiding his intentions? She had the most difficult time reading his face alone. She had even _more_ difficulty understanding his motives and actions. In a way, he was the same as Derek... an expert pretender. Yet he had never hurt her; never dared to. What did you call a person like that? Could he still be trusted...?

"Maka!"

She jumped at the sound of his voice. She hadn't even noticed when he mounted the bike himself. "Uh, what?"

"I said, hold on, before you fall off and break something." Soul repeated, annoyed. "Hurry up!"

Maka scowled and nudged him forward, her fingers digging into his shoulder as he took off down the empty street. _But I've always felt like this._ Maka struggled to collect her suddenly scattered feelings._ I care about Soul. He's always been there for me, but..._ She had always relied on Soul, trusted him, and he had never done anything to hurt her without explaining himself afterward. He had always proven to be trustworthy. He had always helped her, cared for her, treated her right, always gave her a shoulder to lean on when she needed it although he'd always been borderline asshole with his snarky attitude and sarcastic personality...but he always made it up to her. He'd even mumbled out an apology when he took his teasing about dating too far once! It had been her own stubbornness to prove him wrong and shut up that annoying voice in her heart that really got her stuck in this situation in the first place.

But all that aside: was it still right to trust someone who could hide his motives and emotions as well as Soul did...?

Casting her eyes to her lap, Maka pondered this until they reached their apartment. She hopped off the bike the instant they arrived, holding her meal in her hands quietly. The crinkle of the bag was the only sound that she could hear in the entire street. She glanced at the tall building, to the window she knew was their apartment.

It was dark.

Blair was either asleep or still at work.

Maka hoped for the latter.

When she finally reached her apartment and searched the wall for the light switch, she was relieved to find Blair missing from her usual spot on the couch. The last thing she needed was the cats twinkling eyes to follow her all around their apartment. Maka heard Soul enter shortly after, and she quickly walked into the bathroom to avoid confrontation. She turned on the hot water in the shower, aware that her partner had decided to turn on the television instead of falling asleep as he usually did when they arrived home late.

The water that ran down her body came as a shock, only then aware of how cold she had actually been. But it was soothing, and with every scrub it felt as if his dirty hand prints were being cleansed from her body. She didn't know how long she stayed under the hot waterfall, watching steam rise before she could take the hot current no longer, but by the time she did finish, the drone of the television had become louder within their apartment.

She changed slowly, taking more care than usual in applying lotion. She didn't wrap her hair in the towel like she always did: she let it glue to the back of her nightshirt. She was not sleepy and she knew she wouldn't be drowsy for a very long time. Maka swung the towel around her neck, rather surprised to find Soul still wide-awake at three in the morning.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?" Maka asked, sitting beside him. She left a few feet of space between them. It did not go unnoticed by Soul. "Aren't you tired?"

"Not really. Had a cup of coffee before I came to get you," Soul drawled. "You?"

"I just got out of the shower, Soul." Maka rolled her eyes. As if to prove her point, she grabbed the towel and rubbed out the tips of her wet hair between the soft fabric. "It's not good to fall asleep with wet hair... and I don't want to deal with messy hair in the morning, either."

"You always put it up in pigtails. I don't think it'd make much of a difference."

Maka huffed. "Of course _you_ wouldn't know! There's more to hair than just tying it up, Soul!"

"I think I _do _know." Soul pointed to his own rather long hair, spiked back coolly with tons of hairspray. Maka looked at him candidly. He shrugged, a slight grin playing on his face. "Just sayin'."

The televisions uninteresting babble helped fill the silence that had overtaken them. Maka absently rubbed the hem of the towel against her warm cheek, wondering how she could confront this new predicament. She had known Soul for a fairly long time; long enough to say she knew him better than any one else. Surely, with so many years together tucked under their belts, it was okay to trust him despite knowing that he could lie through his teeth and make her believe fables?

It was silent only a few more minutes after she made up her mind.

"Hey, Soul...?"

"Yeah?" He flashed his eyes to her. "What?"

"Can I ask you something?"

Something in her tone made him turn fully to her. "Yeah, go ahead."

"How... how good are you at faking it?" She asked, carefully.

Soul stared at her, blankly. "I'm not following..."

"That." Maka pointed to his composed face. "I mean, how good are you at disguising your emotions?" She took a small breath. "Good enough that you can lie to me in the face and I'll never know about it?"

His eyes widened but that was all. His expression did not waver in the slightest, Maka realized with some fright. Perhaps he really _was_ no different than other men. He had simply never had a suitable reason to harm her with his mask - !

"Don't!" Soul quickly said, catching the fear in her eyes. He reached forward, grabbing her hand. "Don't shut me out. Not now." He rushed, but Maka saw his face barely changed. It had become strained but nothing else. She wondered how a person could do that. "My face... it's always been this way." He confessed. "Ever since I was kid, I was never into the whole expression crap. It – it's always been _harder_ for me to express myself." He dropped his eyes. They looked distant. His fingers tightened around her wrist. "That's why I got into music. It was easier to express myself that way. It also helped that my entire family was musically literate."

Maka slowly nodded, understanding her enigmatic best friend a little more. "But..."

"I wouldn't lie to you. I _haven't_ lied to you since we were fifteen."

Maka narrowed her eyes. "That's not true – you lied to me last week about who set the roast beef on fire!"

Soul blew a stray bang from his eyes, annoyed. "Let me clarify: I haven't lied to you about the _important _things. Small lies, yeah, but never about things that matter to you." He looked up again, intensely. "The last thing I would do is lie in order to _hurt_ you like this, Maka."

Maka guardedly searched his eyes, pits of ruby under the dancing light of the television. Her eyes fell down to their hands. He was clutching her wrist tightly; enough that it was beginning to hurt. She gently wrung her hand from his grip and placed her palm over his hand gently.

"...I believe you." She said, very softly.

He breathed in relief, leaning closer to her. She reached for him instinctively, pressing her cheek against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her small frame. She felt his fingers graze her wet hair, his other arm clutching her around her shoulders protectively. The television lit their embracing frames lazily; the light brushing their bodies a faint gray and black. Maka closed her eyes, unable to deny that, curled in his arms, she felt as if nothing else could hurt her again.

Her weapon would never allow it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Bulletproof  
>by. <strong>_Poisoned Scarlett_

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><p><em>.2.<em>

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><p>He wasn't there.<p>

Black Star had told him via a text message when Soul had asked him the favour of hunting him down. Being an assassin, Black Star's tracking skills were extraordinary. And following his job as an assassin, he hadn't questioned why Soul sounded so icy when he asked the favour. He'd just shrugged it off and did as he was told, finding no sign of the demon axe anywhere.

He had better damned not cross his path today, Soul thought with a low snarl. Soul had already garnered a reputation for being over-protective with Maka's new interest in the dating game, reasons for why still being debated amongst the student body. Derek should know, given the severity of his crime, that his due punishment was going to exceed a simple punch to his smug face.

His knuckles ached with the longing to break jaw bone but he effectively hid his clenching hands by stuffing them in his pockets. Maka was faithfully by his side, climbing the stairs to Shibusen as silently as him. Although she tried her hardest to hide her embarrassment, Soul knew it was there. It was a little hard to believe his headstrong meister had been so helpless at Derek's hand but he also knew she was a girl – no matter how flat-chested she appeared or how tough she came off, she was still only a girl who had been exploring another world. He regretted ever letting her explore that world, too. It was one thing for him to date, being male and having the advantage of not being abused like she had, but it was a completely different matter for his meister.

Perhaps if he hadn't taunted her so much about it, Soul thought with guilt, perhaps then she wouldn't have been pressured to prove him wrong. He also never liked the idea in the first place, proven when he acted like her father when she said she had a date. He was such an _idiot_ when his pride got in the way of what he wanted, he groaned to himself.

"Yo! Soul!" Black Star shouted from the top of the stairs, Tsubaki standing slightly behind him with a big smile on her face. It faltered upon noticing Maka's less than pleased expression, further falling when she noticed a darkness that swam in Soul's eyes.

"Black Star." Soul greeted coolly, high-fiving him as they'd grown accustomed to. He turned to Maka, finding her and Tsubaki some ways off by now, discussing a few things quietly. He decided this was her chance to undrown herself from what she'd resisted in telling him and turned away, back to his spiky-haired friend, to offer her some privacy.

"So, gonna' tell me who pissed you off this time?" Black Star began, nonchalantly. He had his hands clasped behind his neck, looking no more excited than when sitting in Stein's class. "What, she actually liked him or something? You're taking a huge risk by letting her do this, dude."

"I know." Soul grit out. "It won't happen again."

Black Star arched a brow. "So… she actually likes him?"

"Does she _look _happy, Black Star?" Soul snapped, his friend casting a quick look at Maka.

"Eh, no." He coughed. "Alright, so what happened?"

"None of your business," Soul muttered.

"Looks like he's gonna' end up like number 2." Black Star commented, upon casting Maka one last glance. She did look a little worse for wear, Tsubaki's extremely strained and concerned expression telling him something more than a simple grope had gone down. But he refrained from commenting: he'd get his ass handed to him by Soul _and _Tsubaki if he dared to open his mouth. If life had taught him anything over the years, it was that, yes, it's sometimes better to keep your mouth shut...

"He's gonna' end up worse than number 2. He's going to wish he never let the thought of playing my meister ever cross his mind." Soul darkly promised.

"Just don't kill him." Black Star yawned, still rather drowsy. "It's a bitch to hide a body nowadays."

"Gentlemen," another voice cut into their chat. Soul turned to find Kid approaching them, the sisters automatically veering toward Maka and Tsubaki with cheerful squeals. Needless to say, after a few minutes of watching them, Derek had not only Soul to fear but the demonic Thompson sisters as their expressions just about screamed homicide and disbelief.

"Hey, Kid, any missions we can take today?" Black Star asked, oblivious to the dangerous intentions emitting from the sisters. Kid was looking at them, critically, trying to figure out what had made them so furious.

"Not today, Black Star." Kid answered, still looking at them. "Many of the first and second years have already been dispatched to handle them. Father recommended we just attend class for now. He'll be assigning us all a mission soon enough."

"How soon is soon?" Black Star asked, impatiently. "'Cause it's been so _boring _around here! I wanna' go do something – hey, Soul, wanna' ditch today?"

"Maybe some other time." Soul replied, causing the meister to groan loudly.

"Did something happen to Maka last night?" Kid asked, finally turning to look at him.

"You can say that." Soul answered, vaguely. A twisted grin pulled on his face. "Let's just say today's gonna' be a fun day if he shows up."

Kid pressed his lips together at that, casting one last look at his twin pistol weapons. There were many scenarios that Kid came up with during that span of time but he wouldn't know unless someone told him the entire story. He was never one to pry, either, so Kid just prayed Soul and his weapons would not do anything rash today and gestured to the entrance gates of Shibusen.

"Shall we?"

"Meh, might as well." Black Star grumbled, marching through the gates.

"Maka!" Soul called, waving her over. She shook her head, nodding weakly to her friends, who were as serious as Soul had ever seen them to be. Patty looked particularly deranged, wearing a wide, sick, grin as she cracked her knuckles. Her sister looked slightly more sane although the spark in her eye was undeniably dangerous, having seen it once or twice when they're on missions with Kid and someone's dumb enough to threaten her younger sister.

"You comin'?" Black Star asked.

"Yeah, yeah." Soul said, turning away from them and following his friend into the school. Black Star cracked his neck, yammering on about something or the other, but Soul only half-listened. His eyes scoured his surroundings for one thing in particular, eventually landing on a weapon who was slamming his locker closed. He looked up as if feeling the burning stare, and looked directly at Soul.

"Hey, I'll catch up in a bit." Soul announced, and Black Star scowled outright. Kid looked tense. "I gotta' take care of some business."

"Alright, whatever." Black Star huffed, Kid glancing between the two hesitantly.

"Soul?" Kid arched a brow.

"Relax, I'm not gonna' do anything uncool." Soul gestured for him to carry on his way and he did, casting one last glance over his shoulder before following Black Star to the classroom. Soul let an easy smile spread over his face as he approached the weapon standing before his locker, his knuckles white but his expression apprehensive at most.

"Eater," he greeted Soul unsurely. "What's up?"

"Hey, John." Soul said, then looked around. He could see several meister-weapon pairs watch them both, as if anticipating a fight. Soul nodded down the hall. "I gotta' talk to you. You mind?"

"Uh, no. Sure." He shut his locker and shouldered his backpack, following Soul's easy stride down the hall with measured steps. He tried peering at his expression various times but relented after the fourth try, being unable to read Soul's inexplicably calm façade. He glanced around him, the students who were heading to their classrooms without any care in the world.

He couldn't get the sick feeling out of his gut, though.

"You're friends with Derek, right?"

"Yeah, since middle school. We transferred here together." John said, scratching the back of his head. "What's this got to do with anything?"

"Well," Soul shut the door behind them. John looked around him, the empty corridor. It was one of those corridors that was hardly touched by the student body, one of the halls that was more used by the janitors than anyone else. "As you know, he asked Maka out a couple of days ago."

"Uh, yeah. I heard about that…"

"And things didn't go so well." Soul finished. He looked up at him. John felt his throat tighten. "So, where is he?"

"…Are you gonna' beat him up like the others? Look, Eater, I know you care about your meister and all, but just because things didn't work out, that doesn't give you the right to jump him—!" John sucked in a breath when Soul pinned him against the wall with his scythe, a sneer on his lips. John didn't dare move, swallowing and able to feel the sharpness of his blade against his throat.

"Things didn't go so well," Soul repeated through his teeth. His blade pressed against his throat. John winced, fearing breathing as the scythe may cut through his skin. "He did something unforgiveable last night. Forget the others, that's child's play compared to what your _friend_ tried to do to _my_ meister. So, out with it: where is he?"

John rolled his eyes down to the scythe against his throat, looking back up expectantly. Soul relented, but kept the blade poised to his throat. "He's on a mission right now. He took it earlier today. I thought that was weird, but I didn't say anything…"

"Figures that bastard would run away." Soul spat, shifting the scythe back into his body. "When will he be back?"

"A week or so. Why?"

Soul pressed his lips together at that but turned away, slipping his hands into his pockets. John watched him for a second before catching up, grabbing him by the shoulder.

"Hey, what did Derek do—!"

"Lay off!" Soul snapped, wrenching his shoulder from his hand. He fixed him with a cold look. "That's none of your business. We're late for class, so I'd get going."

"Like you care about class!" John shouted back. He sighed. "What did he do _now?_ Maybe I can talk to him or something—!"

"Nothing you say will make up for what he did." Soul cut him off. He shifted his gaze out the mullioned windows of the school, to the golden sun that hung in the sky. He frowned. "When he comes back, he's gonna' pay."

"What'd he do?" John demanded. "C'mon, I'm his friend—!"

"More of a reason not to tell you." Soul flatly said. "Now, fuck off. I'm late."

John looked like he wanted to say more but gave up, watching Soul continue on his way to class with troubled eyes. Soul entered the classroom casually, heading over to his seat next to Maka as Stein continued the lecture uninterrupted. He didn't even glance at Soul as he walked in, wisely not commenting on the vengeful ting Stein could read in his students soul.

"Where were you?" Maka hissed, as Soul tipped his chair back and yawned. "_Soul!_"

"Taking a piss." Soul told her easily, and Maka wrinkled her nose; pinking, as she thought it was something else. "Happy?"

Maka huffed but went back to paying attention to Stein. Her eyes shifted sidelong after a few minutes, noticing Soul was not taking notes. It wasn't so surprising, as Soul hardly even picked up a pencil to begin with, but it was the look on his face as he let class pass by him: concentrated, intense, dark. His silence was strained, his entire body seemingly coiled as if ready to spring at any moment. Maka looked back down to her neatly copied notes, feeling her shoulders fall a little.

She had enough trouble with her friends, who swore vengeance on her behalf. Maka had never seen Tsubaki angry before but the way she'd gone still and silent, aqua eyes steeling, jaw clenching, made her fear for whatever it was her friends were concocting. She could sense them all around her, each coming up with a possible plan for revenge. It only made Maka try to shrink into herself more, not wanting anyone else to know about what had happened that night.

She had little doubt it would spread around the school soon, with so many people in it already, but she wasn't that popular to begin with. However, Soul was. That was the problem, Maka thought, Soul was very popular and it would soon become a big deal amongst the students. She wouldn't be able to stomach being looked at as a weakling for being unable to fend off a boy when she fought and chased after dangerous, bloodthirsty, monsters. This wouldn't have happened if she hadn't been so damn stubborn, Maka sighed to herself. But it was Soul's fault for baiting her! Sometimes reading those letters kept in his locker to taunt her, agreeing to go on a date with the girl when he saw her and deemed her good enough...

Maka felt her pencil nearly split in two in her hand. Soul made it look so _easy_ to date someone; like it was nothing. He didn't even last a long time with those girls, sometimes two weeks or sometimes two days. Maka had a hard time with the guys she'd given a chance, who always wanted something physical so early. She wondered if those girls were the same and grit her teeth at the thought. Stupid Soul, stupid Derek, stupid _emotions - _!

The chair beside her creaked. Maka darted her eyes sideways again, finding Soul sitting properly. As if having sensed her discomfort, Soul looked at her and smiled slightly. She couldn't bring herself to smile. Instead, she dropped her eyes and looked back up to the board. She was already behind in her notes. She couldn't let this incident ruin her day! She was better than this! And with that, she returned to her notes with more enthusiasm tan before.

Soul watched his meister for a few more seconds, a worried crease between his brows, before Liz caught his attention. She glanced at Kid, who was jotting down his notes meticulously, before mouthing:

"_You found him?_"

Soul glanced at Maka, finding her entertained with her own note-taking as well, and mouthed back:

"_Mission. One week._"

Liz swore silently to herself and looked at Patty, shaking her head. Patty scowled outright and looked at Tsubaki, who awaited the reply with an unusually impatient air, and shook her head as well. Black Star saw the entire interaction with one eye cracked open, closing it when Tsubaki snuck a glance at him. He opened both his eyes when he was sure Tsubaki was distracted with her work and glanced at Soul, keeping his gaze on him until the scythe weapon felt it.

Soul merely shrugged in reply to his questioning raise of brows. Black Star scowled, not taking lightly to being left out of something, and looked at Tsubaki. He nudged her with his elbow, whispering: "Hey, what's up between Soul and Maka?"

Tsubaki hesitated. "Nothing, Black Star."

"Tsubaki!" Black Star whined, voice getting gradually louder. "I wanna' know, _too_—!"

"Shh! Okay!" Tsubaki whispered frantically, stealing a look at Maka. Said girl rolled her eyes at Black Star and went back to her notes, thankfully. "Okay, I'll tell you!" Tsubaki sighed when her meister cheered in triumph. "Remember that guy who asked Maka out for Valentines Day?"

"Yeah, so?"

"He… he tried to take advantage of her." Tsubaki carefully worded. Black Star's face stayed blank. Tsubaki's shoulders slumped. "Black Star, he forced himself onto Maka-chan."

"HE _WHAT_—?"

"SHH!" Tsubaki hushed in a panic, slapping a hand over her meister's mouth. Liz sighed and Maka once more looked at them, dropping her eyes to her paper when she realized what had happened. Instead of feeling humiliated, Maka felt furious. She could hear them whispering, not able to clearly hear what they were saying but having an idea of what.

This was getting ridiculous.

When class ended, Maka excused herself to the library with the excuse of needing to return a few books. She was glad that none of her friends tried to accompany her because once she reached the library, weaving through a few bookcases and trying to pull out a book from the rest, she was surprised to find tears welling in her eyes. She rubbed them away, taking a few calming breaths. She didn't want so many people to know. She wanted to deal with this on her own. But now everyone knew and soon word would get out once Derek came back from his mission. It would only be a matter of time before this blew over as well but the time in between was what concerned Maka.

She wanted to deal with this on her _own! _But what could she really do on her own? She'd already punched the guys lights out; that seemed like enough vengeance in her opinion. His nose was probably still hurting. By the time he came back, he'd still have a noticeable splotch on his nose. That would be enough, really. No one had to know what he did to deserve that; they could all assume he was being a dick and move on with their lives. But now word was leaking out, now people would know, people would warp the story. She could only hope no one would single her out on it because the last thing she needed was people prying into her private life.

She rubbed more tears away with the back of her hand and sighed.

This was shaping out to be a bad week.

* * *

><p>"Maka," Soul called a few days later, pausing her mid-step. She wasn't as gloomy as she had been that day after, thankfully, but he still sensed her depression whenever she was around them. It could be due to Black Star's stony face when he remembered what nearly happened to his friend; perhaps Liz and Patty's cracking of knuckles; Kid's silent graveness; Tsubaki's sympathetic looks. She had taken to holing herself up in the library more than usual and it was starting to really get on his nerves, being unable to do anything to help her. "Can I come with?"<p>

But he could try.

"Um…" Maka hesitated but nodded. "Sure, Soul. Are you sure you don't want to hang out with Black Star and Kid instead?"

"Nah," Soul said, making his way to the library with her. "They're not doing anything after school. Black Star's gonna' hit the gym and Kid said he had to fix some mission report for Sid or something…"

"Oh... wait, aren't you going out with that girl in our History class?" Maka suddenly remembered, feeling something sour and bitter rise up her throat. Soul thought about it for a long moment then snapped his fingers in remembrance.

"I turned her down." Soul stated. Maka creased her brow at him, unsure how to take that. She was just his 'type', with a curvaceous figure and an enviable rack to boot. "She's really _loud_... Plus, I wanted to hang out with you instead." His words sounded rather flippant but they still warmed her heart.

"Oh. Okay, then." Maka nodded, holding her book to her chest with renewed energy. She pushed the looming doors of the library open and entered silently, Soul letting the door shut behind them. The resounding slam echoed through the humongous library but the librarian hardly bat an eye, continuing his sorting of books idly.

"Good evening, Miss Maka," the librarian greeted cordially.

"Good evening," Maka replied, making her way toward the back where she usually sat. Soul followed, glancing around with mild interest. It had been a while since he last entered the library for the heck of it. He tipped his chair back and set his feet on the table when Maka took seat right across from him. "Soul, put your feet down!"

"Why? It's not bothering anyone."

"It's rude! So put your feet down!" Maka commanded, with narrowed eyes.

Soul rolled his eyes but did as he was told, slumping over soon after. "So, is this all you do in here? Read?"

"Soul, it's a library. What did you expect, we secretly hold cage fights in here or something?" Maka snorted when he perked up, seeming enthused with the idea. "Don't be stupid, this is a library. There's only books and more books in here. The only other interesting is the video room..."

"Video room?"

"That's where they keep all the movies when teachers want to show us a video. Some of them are educational, but most of them are just regular movies approved by the administration."

"Where's that at?" Soul asked, with renewed interest.

"In the back. You need a pass to enter, though."

"Can't we just pick the lock? It's not like anyone's gonna' find out." Soul muttered, leaning back on his chair to catch glimpse of the librarian. He seemed very engrossed in organizing the books. But the look on Maka's face told him she wasn't willing to risk her skin for a little adventure. Soul slumped over again, groaning. "You're so boring, Maka! Have a little fun, would ya'? It's just a video room, it's not like there's porn in there or something... is there?"

"Ugh, of course not, you pervert!" Maka sneered, turning her nose up at him. "This is a _school_, not your _room_, idiot."

"I don't have porn in my room!" Soul snapped, defensively. He sighed, droning out with feigned enthusiasm: "We have something better: a damn porn star as a roommate..."

"Don't remind me." Maka sighed as well. "I have no idea why we still let her room with us. She's always bringing back weird things."

"Weird things? She's never brought back weird things when she's hanging out with me." Soul said, raising a brow at his meister's blink. "All she does is molest me!" He growled, scowling outright at always being caught off-guard by the damn cat woman. She was too good at those games, and no matter how many times he tried to evade capture, she always ended up catching him at one point and getting him in trouble with his meister.

"Yeah, I know." Maka scowled, sourly. She sighed, exasperated with their lascivious roommate."She's always filling my bed with condoms and toys!"

"...What?"

"I said - !"

"No, I heard you the first time... I just didn't think you could say that without stuttering." Soul deadpanned and Maka flushed a bright red, stammering out a feeble _shut up _that he replied with a cheeky grin at being right. He finally stood up, looking at her with determination. "We're going into that video room!"

"Soul, I already told you, there's no way you can get in unless you have a pass or the librarian opens it for you!" Maka sighed, but quickly followed Soul as he disappeared through the bookcases. "Hey, where are you going? It's that way, genius!" Maka pointed sideways, sighing when Soul shrugged and followed down that way instead. "Are we actually doing this?"

"Yes, we're actually doing this. I can pick a lock, Maka, have some faith in me." Soul grinned mischievously over his shoulder, reading the signs on the doors that began to appear before him. It wasn't long before a door with the sign _video room _reached his eyes and he stood before it, eyeing the doorknob for a moment. Before he could transform his finger into a blade and work his magic, however, Maka groaned and stepped forward. Soul watched her dig into her skirts pocket for a second, pulling out a key chain. Soul rose a brow when he saw her father's Deathscythe ID clipped onto the keychain. "Is that...?"

"Papa would do anything to be in my favour." Maka smiled smugly at him, impressing him. She picked off a few keys before finding the right one, quietly jiggling the doorknob and entering the room just as Soul did. She shut the door behind her with a sigh of relief at not being caught, nearly jumping out of her skin when Soul laughed out:

"Sweet! They have E.T.!"

"Soul, shut up!" Maka hissed while her partner rummaged through a few more stacks. "The librarian will hear us and we'll be in so much trouble! No ones supposed to know I have my papa's keys!"

"That guy's too busy organizing his books, we're fine." Soul waved off, taking out two more DVD's. "Hey, you think we can borrow these and give 'em back tomorrow?"

"NO!"

"I thought you said we needed to be _quiet_." Soul teased, dodging a hit from her while he wandered over to another case full of DVD's and video casets. "Seen it, seen it, seen it, seen it, seen it..." He muttered while he sorted through the DVDs with skill. "Seen it, this sucked, this was lame, this was uncool, could've been better, liked the original, stupid sequel, stupid movie, dumb chick flick, remake was better, pretty good, not that bad, eh, uncool, seen it _twice_..." He eyed this DVD title as if contemplating seeing it a third time.

"You watch _way_ too much TV, Soul." Maka warily told her partner, who tossed her a disinterested look before he continued to sort through the movies stacked on the shelf. Maka made her way over to the small shelf pushed by a corner, kneeling and running her finger over the dusty titles. Some of these were plays made into movies or just musicals. She noticed they were mainly romance/drama and smiled softly when she saw a few titles that she recognized. She pulled out one movie in particular, reading the summary on the back while Soul continued his muttering from behind her.

"What'cha got there?"

"AH!" Maka jumped, her shoulder crashing into Soul's chin. He flinched back, and Maka immediately apologized as he held his aching jaw. "Don't sneak up on me like that, you idiot!" Maka hissed, smacking him lightly on the shoulder with the DVD case.

"You were saying?" Soul seethed, gesturing to the DVD in her hand.

"Oh. Tsubaki said this was a really good movie but I never got the chance to see it..." Maka showed it to him, watching his eyes move as they read the title and took in the eye-catching image.

"_Chicago?_" Soul read the title, flipping it over to read the summary. "Musical, huh? I've flipped through it on cable, but never really stopped to watch it..."

"Do you think it's good?" Maka asked, curiously. She began to kneel but wobbled, Soul's hand shooting out to steady her. Once she was kneeling properly, he let his hand linger on her shoulder before returning to his side.

"Wanna' find out?" He grinned back.

She caught on immediately. "No, Soul. We're not taking it home with us. You're not taking _anything_ home with us today, you hear me? If the librarian finds out something is missing, we're going to be in big trouble!"

"How'll he know it's us, though?" Soul scoffed. "It could be anyone. He could have _misplaced_ it, for all he knows!" Soul smirked at her uneasy face. "C'mon, Maka. It's not like we're going to lose it. We'll just watch it and bring it back tomorrow..." This would also be a good time to get her meister out of her moods when she arrived home. She was gloomier than usual at home, and if watching this movie somehow got her out of her funk, then Soul was willing to steal it on her behalf. "Look, if we get caught, I'll take the blame, alright? Not like they can expel me or something and I'm used to detention. It'll only be another strike in my record." He shrugged, but Maka scowled.

"I don't want you to get in trouble because of me, Soul! If we get caught, we're in this _together!_" The way she said that made his throat tight. It wasn't a bad thing, becoming nervous under her fierce emerald eyes. It was a reaction he'd learned to deal with by forcing on a shaky smile and looking away. He knew why he got that reaction anyway, so there was no use ignoring it. When his meister got like this, all pumped up and fierce, her eyes became the most beautiful shade of green he'd ever seen. He even let a small smile grace his face as he said:

"So does that mean we get to take it home?"

Maka paused for a moment, biting her lip.

Her papa's keys were a weight in her skirt pocket. But her papa, as she'd said, would do anything to get back into her favour after he did something bad. It was one reason he was so careless with his Deathscythe ID whenever she asked for it in order to check out a book from the restricted section. She'd learned so much from reading those forbidden books but knew that if Lord Death or any one else caught wind of her little criminal acts, she'd be in enough trouble to last her decades because some of the things mentioned in those books were tightly-kept secrets.

But this was just a movie - not some ancient tome about the roots of witches, not a black magic spellbook for normal humans to use, not a book speaking of the great sorcerer Eibon... just a movie about two women with vengeful hearts. A classic drama; nothing big or special.

"Okay." Maka caved.

"You're the coolest!" Soul grinned, ruffling her hair as he slipped the DVD into the inside pocket of his jacket and made his way out. Maka rubbed her head a little, a tiny blush adorning her cheeks. She smiled happily and made her way out as well, making sure to leave everything how they first saw it and lock the door on her way out.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** And for the record...

Yes, there is another chapter lol

_Scarlett._


	3. Chapter 3

**Bulletproof  
>by. <strong>_Poisoned Scarlett_

* * *

><p><em>.3..<em>

* * *

><p>Liz Thompson stood with her back leaning against the wall, foot propped up as her sister giggled sinisterly down at the blueprints for their latest scandal. She had her arms crossed over her chest, blonde hair falling down one side of her chest while she waited for Tsubaki to arrive so they could set their plan into motion.<p>

"I'm sorry I'm late, guys!" Tsubaki apologized breathlessly, shutting the door to Professor Stein's classroom behind her. "Black Star was stubborn on coming with me. I think I lost him already."

"Good. We can't have that idiot interrupting our plans." Liz simply said, moving to stand behind her sister. Patty finished the last few phases in their plan and looked up at them both, giving them a cheery thumbs up that was accompanied by a rather wicked grin.

"What's the plan? I'm ready." Tsubaki asked, determined.

"It's pretty basic. I did some snooping around and found out that Maka wasn't the _only_ one who got manhandled like that: there's been other girls. He's never gone the whole mile, but he _definitely_ pressured them into doing some stuff they hadn't wanted to. That's enough in my book, and they're willing to help us out. They'll call me if they catch sight of him in school or town." Liz smiled at Tsubaki, waving her cellphone at the girl. "And our plan is pretty easy to understand. Patty?"

"Sure thing, sis!" And she lifted the paper to show her.

Tsubaki gaped at what she saw. The entire time she'd thought Patty had been plotting out some masterful plan was less than true although both sisters would strongly disagree. In front of her, the sheet as long as her arms and as wide as her chest, was a graphic drawing of them and Soul and every other person who wished to be involved. pounding the living of a bleeding and broken Derek. Even Tsubaki felt a shiver run down her spine at the unnervingly real coloring of red that she supposed was his blood…on the ground and walls and splattering in the air.

"I-is that Soul's _scythe?_" Tsubaki squeaked in horror, wide-eyed as she drank in the sight of Soul stabbing his scythe into the mans groin. "And – and Black Star?" He was stomping his foot in his face. "Oh…. Oh, _my_…Patty is...very good at drawing..."

"What? You were so into the idea a while go!" Liz complained at Tsubaki's pale face.

"Yes, but a while ago I was_ blinded_ by anger!" Tsubaki argued. "Liz, this is wrong! I think we should just tell Lord Death of what he has been doing to the girls and let him deal with him! If we do this, we'll be no better than him!"

Liz sneered. "What're you talking about? This is how we dealt with trouble back in Brooklyn." She smirked down at the image Patty had taken only too much joy in drawing for them, "'Sides, I bet you anything Soul would _love _to do what Patty just drew."

"Soul would do no such thing!" Tsubaki shouted back.

"What makes you think that?" Liz rose a sharp brow.

"Because Maka would never allow him to!" She stated firmly, and Liz pressed her lips together. "That reminds me: why have we not involved Maka in these plans? She specifically told us she did not want any of this to go public! If we were to do something on this massive scale… everyone will surely know and we would have broken Maka's trust in us!" She cried, clutching her hand to her chest tightly. This made Liz falter in her decision, along with Patty, who looked down at her drawing sadly.

"But we can still beat him up, right? I mean, Soul practically pummeled the other guys who barely laid a hand on her!" Liz grumbled, pouting a little at how much Soul had actually gotten away with. That guy was sly, good at threatening people and getting his way. It was only because he could easily convert his arm into a dangerous scythe, never mind the ominous color scheme of his blade…

Tsubaki smiled wearily but nodded. "Yes – just not to the point of him needing to go to the nurse! We've bothered Nurse Nygus enough with our own brawls..." She pinked, remembering all those fights Black Star had gotten into at school because of his own pride. That didn't include Soul's own fair share of battles, as well as Kid's when some haughty meister's were dumb enough to challenge him in the beginning of his schooling.

"That's all you needed to say, Tsubaki." Liz grinned, eyes twinkling with mischief.

"We'll make this fucker pay for trying to hurt Maka!" Patty cackled, leaping up with her drawing in her arms. "Right, Liz?"

"Right, sis." Liz nodded, approvingly.

"Do we even know when he will be back?" Tsubaki asked, rather relieved she'd managed to change their minds a little.

Liz shrugged. "Word on the street is Derek's gonna' be back sometime tomorrow evening...My plan was we catch 'em out by the front and deal with him there. By that time, most of the teachers would be out, and most of his friends would have gone home. We can deal with the leftovers, but our main focus is gonna' be that bastard."

"Should… should we contact Soul and the boys as well?" Tsubaki asked, hesitantly. "Kid is also very angry with what happened to Maka, although he isn't one to partake in violence. Maybe I should call him to supervise the fight… we wouldn't want anything _too_ bad to happen to Derek!"

"Tsubaki, we're jumping him." Liz deadpanned. "That's as bad as it gets."

"Yeah, yeah!" Patty giggled. "So what if we break a couple of bones? They'll heal up in no time! Hyahaha!"

"Oh, no…" Tsubaki groaned, as both girls conspired with each other and Black Star smirked from outside the door, jamming his hands into his pockets and strolling away as if nothing had even happened.

* * *

><p>"Ouch! Soul, move it!"<p>

"_You_ move it!"

"You're in my space!"

"Last I remember, this was _my _space." Soul pushed her off his side of the couch without batting an eye, snickering when she squeaked and held onto his ankle for dear life lest she fall backwards and off the couch. He brought his leg up, helping her back onto the couch as well, and took the pounding that followed with his head held high although he was cowering from another blow soon after. You'd think he'd be used to such abuse so long into their partnership but her blows with those hardcover books only seemed to grow more and more painful as the years rolled by.

"Can't we just watch the movie?" Maka asked, annoyed. "I just want to watch a movie without _you_ doing something _stupid_ to distract me from it!"

"Only if you stop hitting me."

"Fine."

The movie rolled uninterrupted for a few long minutes. Maka had actually begun to enjoy the film, smiling slightly as the catchy music played and the women sang on the screen. Her bowl of popcorn had been forgotten on the table, more engrossed in the movie than the snack, and the only reason she lost focus was because Soul shifted and sat closer to her to lean over to grab the bowl from the table. Then his loud chewing had struck a nerve, making her shoot him a warning look he replied with an oblivious shrug of the shoulders.

"Soul, close your mouth when you chew."

"Why? It's not bothering anyone..."

"It's bothering _me!_"

"I'm just _eating_."

"Loudly!" Maka growled. Soul scoffed but complied, rather sour as the film continued to play. After a few seconds, being now unable to focus on the movie, Maka said: "Tsubaki said she wants to go somewhere with me tomorrow."

"Hnn? Where to?" Soul drawled, tossing some popcorn into his mouth lazily.

"She didn't say... she just told me it would be good if I got out of the house for a bit." Maka mumbled, glancing down at her lap moodily. She read what was being said in between the lines quite clearly: they were clearly thinking she was unable to cope with this situation, which was not the truth at all. Maka had been able to forget all about that jerk Derek for a few hours, even now as she watched the movie although she had been reminded when she remembered Tsubaki's offer. Maka was glad to have such supportive friends, but did they really need to treat her like some damsel in distress?

"Maybe it's a good idea..." Soul shifted his eyes away from hers when she looked at him, sharply. "Y'know, to get out of the house."

"I can handle it, Soul." Maka grit out. "_Nothing_ is wrong with me! I don't need to be babied like this! It bugs me!" Maka growled, glaring at the television screen. "I'm put in _constant_ _danger_ whenever we're on missions, but I don't see you guys crowding around me whenever I get _kicked _into a tree..."

Maka scowled when she heard Soul chuckle, groaning when she felt his arm wrap around her shoulder and his other hand ruffle her hair wildly. She tried to shake him off, complaining he'd get butter and salt all over her, but he merely grinned, using both hands until she pushed back and managed to level them once more.

"Ugh! I have no idea what all of those girls see in you! You're such a slob!" Maka grunted, shaking her head and trying in vain to fix her terribly ruffled hair.

"What can I say? I'm just that cool." Soul grinned back, his arm loosely hanging off her shoulders while he sunk back into the seats.

"Which reminds me, why _are_ you here today?" Maka asked, causing him to quirk a brow. "You're usually out with some girl by now." She refrained from sounding sour, the only indication being the rather disgusted sneer she pulled on when she said _girl. _

"Not all the time, I hang out with the guys more." Soul grumbled. He yawned. "I haven't gone out with someone in... weeks."

"Liar, you went out with a girl just two weeks ago!"

"No, I didn't. She's in my group for this project thing in Sid's class and we had to go photocopy some stuff to distribute to the meister class later, since the printer in the main office is down." Soul explained, nonchalantly. "Not my fault she thought it was a date. Pretty stupid if she did, actually. Who takes a girl out to copy papers for their first date? So not cool..."

Ignoring that last bit, Maka curiously asked: "What stuff are you going to be handing out?"

"Something about voter registration forms for those eighteen and up or something." Soul shrugged, obviously not that involved in the project. "Counts for my service credit, so whatever."

Maka sighed. "At least you're getting something done..."

Soul hummed back in reply and, after a few seconds of thought, said: "I wouldn't leave you alone right now, though. Not after what happened. You're still kinda' jumpy..."

"I'm not jumpy!" Maka fiercely argued. Soul suddenly brought her closer to his chest, proving his point when she stiffened and flinched away from him.

"You were saying?"

Cheeks flaring with color, Maka defiantly grabbed his arm and wrapped it around her again, ignoring the twinge in her gut that told her to get away. She took a deep breath and let it out, slowly but surely relaxing into his sidelong embrace. Her heart calmed, all urge to jump away from him disappearing. She even pulled on a triumphant smile at being able to prove herself right once more. Soul only allowed a small smile to grace his face at her determination.

"It's been a while since that night... and you don't _have_ to be there for me all the time. We're almost going to be adults, Soul." Maka said, after some thought. "I can do things on my own without you being there. And something's never made sense to me..." She wiggled around in his arms, trying to get him to loosen his grip on her shoulders in order to properly face him but he would have none of it. He kept his grip tight. "Even before this, you'd always blow off those girls for me."

"Did not."

"Did too! They always complained to me afterwards!" Maka stated, and Soul darted his eyes to her in surprise. He'd obviously not been expecting that. Despite a sense of victory at having priority in his eyes, Maka said: "That's not very nice, Soul."

"Yeah, but they're not very nice girls to begin with." Soul dismissed, keeping his eyes trained on the television screen while his meister looked up at him imploringly. He sighed, finally meeting her eyes. "Look, they come to _me_, alright? Sometimes I'm bored so I agree, other times they get all wimpy and start crying. It's not cool to make a girl cry, so I humor them for a bit."

"…You sound _exactly_ like my papa right now…" Maka slowly said, and Soul's eye twitched at the unsightly comparison.

"What the hell? I'm _nothing_ like that perverted old fart!" He exclaimed, offended.

"I'm being serious. That's what he always told me when I was younger." Maka said, softly. Soul's anger ebbed at the sight of her conflicted eyes. "He always told me those girls would be really sad if he said no, and he didn't like making people sad. It didn't make sense to me because he would always make my mama sad when he did it… but I hadn't been able to really think about it until I was a little older and realized what a liar he was."

"Well… I don't do it 'cause _like_ it or anything." Soul awkwardly began, struggling to put his perspective in view for her. But it was a little hard without completely admitting his feelings. "Just… the person I like, uh.." He felt Maka stiffen in his arms and his heart raced. This was starting to becoming much more awkward than he'd ever intended it to become. "… Let's just say she's not an easy person to love." He finally said, satisfied with his answer.

But Maka had become no more relaxed than when he started that sentence. If he had been able to see her face, he'd see it frozen with disbelief. There had always been a small hope in her that refused to die; a small chance that perhaps all of those failed attempts had really been for nothing because she'd just been dense and blind. But now, after this, it all seemed to crumble from the inside out. He'd admitted it: he _admitted_ that he treasured someone else more than he did his very own meister and she supposed that was what killed her the most. She'd calmed herself before by saying that as long he was her friend, no matter how many girls he seemingly went through, she would be alright, but she knew that to be a longshot. How would she be alright if she always saw him with that person he treasured more? Always going the extra mile for that person, always being happy with that person, always doing _everything_ with that person?

Neglect came to mind, but it wasn't the word she was looking for. The word she was looking for was lost somewhere in her own plethora of thoughts; to be lost until she managed to shake off the devastating sense of loss that swelled inside of her.

"Who…" She began, softly. She swallowed the thickness in her voice. "Who is she?"

Soul hesitated, running though random names in his head. None came to mind: only one, and said girl was currently curled in his arms more out of her pride than willingness. He certainly did not want to make their partnership anymore awkward that it had already become with their hormones and arguments about the stupidest things. He'd been about to deflect the question when he heard a soft sniffle.

"…Maka?" He began, slowly. "Are you _crying?_"

"NO!"

"You're crying!" He shouted, incredulously. Now this made absolutely no sense to him! Why would she suddenly burst into tears? Had she been reminded of something with his words, something Derek had once told her? He felt rage swell up in his chest at the thought, cold and vengeful. "Why are you crying, idiot?"

"I'm not crying!" Maka cried out, defiantly. She furiously rubbed out her traitorous eyes. "I'm not! It's just – the movie!"

"Maka, they're singing about why they killed their victims."

"BEFORE THAT!"

Soul snorted. "They were _still_ singing about that – they're murderers. Now what _really_ made you cry?" Soul demanded, and forced her to face him when she stubbornly looked away. "Maka, you know I hate it when you cry. You get all—!"

"I know! I know I'm ugly when I cry, Soul, you told me enough times!" Maka sneered, rubbing out her watering eyes again. Soul sighed at that but refrained from commenting. "I don't know why I'm crying, I just am. I'm being stupid…"

"What were you thinking about in that big brain of yours?" Soul asked, gently. He placed a hand on her head with more care than the first time, ruffling up her loose hair a bit while she sniffed and swallowed down a hiccup. "Huh? It's not cool to keep things from your partner..." He coaxed, leaning down a bit to catch sight of her face. She hid it, though, and he resisted another sigh of frustration before leaning back and giving her the privacy she wanted.

"I just…" Maka began, voice very small. He wouldn't have heard it if he had not been paying attention. "…I'm afraid you'll leave me all alone."

"Eh?" He blinked. "How'd you come up with that?"

"Because you like that girl! You can't be hanging around your meister like that if you like someone on that level, Soul – you'd eventually leave me. That's how it works." Maka scathingly told him, quieting towards the end. She sniffled and wiped away more of her tears after that, slightly embarrassed to have admitted something so large to him.

But he finally understood and he felt his mouth threaten to break into a grin. He swallowed his laughter, knowing it'd hurt her feelings because she'd take it the wrong way as she _always_ did, and instead tightened his hold around her shoulders. His cheek pressed against her head, her hands hesitantly grabbing onto the sides of his shirt, and he felt a small smile lift his lips.

She was afraid he'd leave her all alone again. He'd never heard of a more ridiculous fear than that. Of all the things to fear – from ghosts like Liz to creepy crawlies for Tsubaki – she had to fear the most absurd fear of them all. But it brightened his day up, knowing she'd take it hard if he were to actually look for someone else in the world. He supposed it was time to cut to the chase, Soul thought with a heaved sigh, they couldn't keep walking on egg-shells for their entire lives. One of them had to fess up; one of them had to decide whether or not they liked the other. Now that's a valid fear, Soul thought to himself, the fear of rejection.

The fear of being close to another person.

He understood that fear because he'd felt it himself. In fact, he was feeling them at the moment, as his meister buried her nose in his neck and her grip on his shirt became deathly. Maka had helped him in his fear for proximity over the years, enough that he was fine with approaching people if the situation called for it. But this was a fear that Maka couldn't necessarily help him with, given that she may or may not make the fear completely disappear or worsen it.

"I'm never gonna' leave you, Maka." Soul whispered against her hair. "There isn't anything here that can make me leave."

"But…"

"That girl isn't going to separate me from you." Soul chuckled, rubbing away the rigidness in her back with the heel of his hand. "Besides, I already spend ninety percent of my time with her. Never took her for a crybaby, though." He teased weakly, holding his breath when she suddenly stilled beneath him.

"What?" She asked, bewildered. She pushed away from him and looked up at him, finding his eyes had turned away from her nervously. She sat back on her knees, watching him clench his jaw like he did when he was troubled. She looked at him for a moment more, needing to make sure she had heard him right: "What do you mean by that?"

"I was telling the truth when I said she was hard to love." Soul began, slowly. He decided if he was going to fess up, he'd do it coolly. At least he'd still have that if it all went down the gutter. He looked at her, dead on. "You're not an easy person to love, Maka, you're always hitting me on the head. And you read too much. And you always use up all the mouthwash. And you're always scared about the stupidest things," he chuckled fondly, his smile then taking on an irked edge. "And you always let the dumbest things get to you. The only reason you started going out with all those dumbasses was because you took me seriously when I called you a hermit!"

"That wasn't it! I-I did it because I wanted to leave you first!" She blurted, flustered.

He stared. "_What?"_

"I… didn't think you liked me like that." Maka fumbled with the hem of her shirt. "So I decided that if I left you first, it'd hurt a lot less."

That plunging feeling in his gut was only remedied with the thought that if his confession broke through, he'd never have to face nearly losing her ever again. Here he thought she was just being cute with trying to prove him wrong: her reason had drove much deeper than that. But what had he expected, really? He should have anticipated something like this from her! "What gave you _that_ idea? I'm practically around you _all the time!_ I haven't even hung out with Black Star in …_months!_"

"A year, actually. At least not without Kid there to watch your back." Maka corrected, thinking hard. "You stopped a month before my birthday when he dunked your head in that pail of dirty water for calling him a name. I don't remember what you called him, only that you wouldn't shut up about it for days. Something about wounding your cool…"

"He did _not_ wound my cool, he was _being_ uncool!" Soul hotly said, but Maka only giggled. His expression softened, and he scoffed laughter soon after. His chuckles came to a quiet when he realized that she'd avoided answering to his impractical confession. But he found he hadn't needed a verbal reply: Maka crawled back and wrapped her arms tightly around him, nuzzling her cheek into his chest without falter. His arms came down around her shoulders again, his hand pushing away her moist locks of hair.

"So you won't leave me?" Maka repeated, closing her eyes when she felt his chest rumble with his exasperated chuckles.

"No, Maka. I won't. You make the best curry," he added, snorting when she laughed.

"Okay." She happily curled into his chest, the movie long since forgotten.

* * *

><p>"You wanna' go at 'em?" Black Star shouted over his shoulder, standing coolly while Derek caught his breath. The sun was weighing low on the horizon, a strip of flaming orange against a violet sky. "I'm getting kinda' bored."<p>

"No, thank you. He is not worth my effort." Kid replied, crisply. That only seemed to fuel Derek's rage at them both for this unexpected battle.

Death the Kid was considered a model student amongst many in the school. Excluding his tendency to lose all sanity whenever presented with something asymmetrical, he was widely renowned for his excellent manners, intelligence, and formal dress. But as Death the Kid stood casually against one of the towering pillars that held his precious academy standing, watching a fight without much concern, one would question his seemingly spotless reputation.

"Soul will be angry when he finds out." Kid began, nonchalantly. By the stairwell, Kid could see John, that boys friend, flinch at the name and shift uncomfortably.

"He's not answerin' his cell!" Black Star said, circling Derek with a predatory glint in his eye. The other boy panted as he struggled to ignore the pain in his side, caused by the Star clan member's chain scythe. The tips of said scythes seemed to glint with a sharper razor than usual, as if Tsubaki had sharpened the arc of her blade in her spare time.

"C'mon, Black Star! Cut him up already, dammit!" Liz hollered, Patty cheering right beside her. Kid merely sighed through his nose, watching both students lunge at each other once more. Their weapons clashed, Derek being pushed back by the strength Black Star possessed, but did not call for a break when the boy was launched backwards into the wall with a wheeze. Instead, Kid watched with blank eyes as Black Star came to a stop before Derek, peeling him off the floor and aiming a harsh blow to his gut with his fist. Kid's golden eyes followed the way his body flew into the other pillar, cracking it slightly as he slid down weakly.

Well, that wouldn't do. He was ruining the symmetry of his father's academy.

"That's enough, Black Star." Kid quietly said, knowing he'd heard him. But the boy was thirsting for blood, always having vowed to never let any harm to come to his friends. Before he made it ten steps towards the fallen weapon, however, Kid stepped forward and raised his hand calmly. "Black Star, I said that's enough. He can barely stand, much less fight. There is nothing more to prove now."

"That bastard deserves more than just a couple of punches!" Black Star sneered. "I wasn't even using _half_ my strength!"

"Black Star, Kid is right." Tsubaki said, concern in her voice. "That's enough."

"Don't get up, it'll only hurt more." John, the only friend who'd stayed behind when his entire group realized what was going on, stated as he neared Derek. But his friend batted his hand away, sending him back to his spot by the massive stairs with a single look.

"Humph. He looks fine to me," Black Star scoffed.

Derek grunted as he weakly tried to stand, glaring furiously at him. Kid was not against slamming the boy back down if he tried to attack, having needed to meditate his own fury away at the response he received when they approached him earlier that day. Derek had the indecency to feign ignorance, waving off Maka's claims as if she'd lied about the entire thing for her own gain. He hadn't seemed too concerned, with only Black Star and Kid and their own weapons around. Kid would never understand how more than half the student body feared Soul when he happened to be the less violent of the entire group. They'd obviously never seen an enraged Black Star, or Kid living up to his status as God of Death, if they believed Soul to be much more fearsome than them combined.

Kid blamed Soul's abnormal features.

Black Star claimed their minds were simply too small to comprehend their awesomeness.

Regardless of which was true or not, Derek had vastly underestimated them. From the corner of his eye, he could see Liz grinning darkly while her sister snickered to herself. He pretended not to notice the way Patty had transformed into a gun as Derek opened his mouth to curse at them. What he received was a shot in his shoulder that made him cry out, and Kid's purposely delayed reaction to stop his own weapons from getting too riled up.

"Liz!" Kid snapped.

"C'mon, Kid, I barely put any power into that!" Liz insisted.

"Liz, the battle is over. Anymore and he will not be able to stand on his own and I really do not want to send for someone to carry him to the dispensary." Kid shortly said. He heard Black Star snort from behind him before Tsubaki transformed back and turned to Derek. He vaguely heard her hiss, "you disgust me!" before she turned away and hurried to Liz and Patty's side; Black Star not too far behind.

"Soul's gonna' be maaaad!" Patty giggled madly. "Should we call 'em, sis? Should we?"

"Hmm," Liz glanced at Derek, being helped up by one stony-faced but accepting John. "Yeah, right after those guys leave. He'll be pissed, 'cause he wanted some in on the action, but he's fucked up enough guys before. He doesn't need another one on his list," she finished smugly, arms crossed over her chest while the two boys slowly made their way to the dispensary.

"I hope this doesn't spread around school..." Tsubaki mumbled, nervously.

"You kidding me, Tsubaki?" Black Star guffawed. "THIS IS GOING TO BE THE TALK OF THE WEEK! HOW I, THE GREAT BLACK STAR, BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THAT ASSHOLE! This will be marked down as the most pathetic attempt at subduing the great me in all of history!" He cackled, catching how Derek's shoulders had gone rigid from way up ahead. Thankfully, his friend convinced him to keep walking.

"Now, Black Star." Kid sighed, knowing it was futile but needing to at least try. "Don't do anything rash. We _do_ want to keep this as quiet as possible lest we be confronted by a teacher. I am not an official faculty member despite my rank as Death God and Father strongly disapproves such fights on campus..." At the thought of his father, Kid swallowed.

"Relax, Kid, what's the worse Lord Death can do?" Black Star dismissed, not at all concerned. "Don't tell me you're scared of detention! Ooh, the preppy little daddy's boy is afraid of big bad _detention_ - !"

"I am not, but the dismissal for students attending detention is - _seven_." Kid shuddered. "I would be more than happy to go if it were _eight!_"

"Not this again..." Liz groaned.

"Um, sis?"

"Yeah, Pat?"

"Soul sounds maaad!" Patty grinned, sheepishly. She held her cellphone between her hands, as all of them turned their attention to her. They hadn't even noticed she'd made the call! "He's with Maka right now so he can't come but he said tomorrow we're all gonna' get it!"

"Soul ain't gonna' do shit." Black Star snorted. "He should be on his knees thanking the great me for dealing with that punk!"

"Black Star..." Tsubaki sighed.

"Tomorrow will be a long day," Kid sighed to himself.

"For _you_ guys!" Liz grinned, widely. "Soul doesn't hit girls! It's _uncool!_ So just take the punch for me, yeah, Kid? Thanks, Kid! Love youuu!" Liz blew him a kiss, hurrying away with her sister in tow. Kid gaped after her, his mind processing her request too late.

"Wait, what?" Kid squawked. "Liz! Patty! Get back here! We have not properly negotiated this - !"

"HAHA! KID'S GONNA' GET BEAT UP!"

"So are you, you idiot!"

"Nu uh. Soul wouldn't hit his best friend, it goes against the bro code." Black Star stated, matter-of-factly. Kid simply stared at him, knowing there was no such code and he'd just made it up on the spot, but chose not to comment. Tsubaki silently thanked him for that, bowing a goodbye while Black Star waved backwards and they headed back to their home for the night.

Kid stood there for a moment, frowning "And I still have to measure all of the frames in the house to ensure they're perfectly symmetrical..." He perked up at that, however, walking away from the scene with a small hop in his steps. "Such beauty will relieve all of my worries...!"

* * *

><p><em>Story Extra:<em>

She'd been finishing her classwork that day, hunched over the worksheet while Soul yawned widely beside her. He seemed more relaxed than usual, slumped over his desk with a drowsy look in his eye. His assignment was half-way completed, unlike hers, which was nearly finished by now. But she gave him credit for not getting distracted by Black Star's mocking kissy faces, which only served to irritate the pair because they had no idea how he'd ever found out of their new-found intimacy in the first place.

Stein had been sitting in his usual rolling chair, the creaky thing wheeling towards the white board as he wiped off what he'd written to prepare for the next class.

It was a very peaceful class period, all things considered.

"WHICH ONE OF YOU DID IT!" Spirit Albarn burst into the class, causing Stein to drop the board eraser and nearly half the class to scream and startle out of their seats. His chest puffed out protectively, nostriles flared, Spirit bellowed: "WHICH ONE OF YOU LITTLE FUCKERS TRIED TO TOUCH MY BABY! _HUH?_"

"Shut up, old man, you're causing a scene!" Soul barked.

"Was it you? I KNEW IT! You were always a violent little bastard!" Spirit growled, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"What? Come say that to my face, you pervy old man!" Soul growled right back, glaring at him from his spot on the third row of the classroom.

"I'll do something better," Spirit hissed, cracking his knuckles. "I'll wipe that smirk right off your face with my _fist - _!" Spirit never saw it coming. He only saw a vague black shape in the distance, before said shape became a rectangle and said rectangle collided with his face with painful accuracy. He was knocked back, falling unconcious while the book plopped on the ground with a quiet thump. All eyes darted to Maka, who scowled at her father before sitting back down with a huff of the word _idiot. _

"Someone's a little too late," Liz lazily said, her sister giggling beside her. "Alright, which one of us forgot to tell him?"

"I believe that was my duty." Tsubaki winced. Black Star had taken the liberty of laughing for them all, cracking up while Deathscythe mumbled incoherently to himself after such a blow to the head. "I'm sorry, Maka, I completely forgot!"

"It's okay." Maka muttered, glaring at her father. "I was happier knowing he didn't know, actually."

"Moron," Soul grumbled, sitting back with his arms crossed over his chest.

Kid just heaved a sigh.

"Thank you, Maka." Stein said, wheeling over to now knocked-out Spirit. "We wouldn't have been able to shut him up otherwise. Everyone continue working. I'll deal with this idiot." He eyed his friend for a second before lifting his foot and rolling him out of his classroom as if afraid that by using his hands he'd get them dirty; ignoring the exasperated looks from his students as he rolled Spirit out of his class without much concern for the noticeable bruise on his forehead.

"Wonder what'll happen when he realizes who it was." Patty wondered aloud.

Maka cringed.

Soul, however, smirked.

"I'll be sure to leave him the memo in his office."

"Soul..." Maka growled.

"I was kidding!" He said, defensively. Muttering, "Kind of..."

Tsubaki just sighed when Soul was chopped on the head as well, going back to work along with the others and hoping they could get through this day without anymore incident.


End file.
